City Xtra
·17 October 2024
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Yahoo sportsCity Xtra
·17 October 2024
After an eventful start to the season, Manchester City find themselves in a good position both in the Premier League, and across the UEFA Champions League and Carabao Cup.
The Sky Blues are undefeated in the league thus far, winning five of their opening seven matches and drawing the remaining two. Results, as well as clinical finishes in front of goal, mean that City sit second in the Premier League table.
As for cup competitions, Pep Guardiola and his players advanced into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup via victory over Watford, and the Sky Blues are performing well in the UEFA Champions League.
Following the second bulk of matches this season, City took a brief hiatus from club football action as the large majority of the first-team squad departed to play for their respective national teams.
Across a two-week period in October, several members of the Premier League champions’ squad took part in UEFA Nations League action, while others were involved in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in South America.
In the UEFA Nations League, several of City’s players participated in League A, with Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva representing Portugal against Poland and Scotland. Having defeated the former with Bernardo Silva on the scorehseet, a visit to Scotland brought a 0-0 draw.
Those results mean Portugal remain top of their group with two matches to play.
Joško Gvardiol featured for Croatia in both games against Scotland and Poland, whilst Mateo Kovacic was absent from both matches. The Croats defeated Scotland and drew to Poland in a fiercely contested 3-3 clash, sitting second place in their group at this juncture.
Jérémy Doku represented Belgium in matches against Italy and France, drawing against a 10-man Italy side before falling to yet another defeat at the hands of France. Results see Belgium sitting third in their group, and are now at risk of being relegated to League B.
Elsewhere in Group 4, Manuel Akanji represented Switzerland against Serbia and Denmark, resulting in a loss and a draw respectively. Results mean Switzerland are bottom of their group with two matches to play, and are also in danger of being relegated to League B.
As for matches in League B, several of Manchester City’s players also competed at this level of the Nations League.
In Group 2, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, and Rico Lewis participated in England’s games against Greece and Finland. The former put the English to the test, and snatched a surprising last-minute victory, before the Three Lions bounced back against Finland in a 1-3 away win, featuring a Grealish goal – his second in three games under Lee Carsley. Results mean England are currently second in their group.
In League B Group 3, Erling Haaland competed with Norway against Slovenia and Austria, earning a convincing win over the former and two goals for the Manchester City striker. That would only be followed by a heavy 5-1 defeat against Austria. Norway still find themselves top of their group, although teams in first, second, and third all have two victories, a draw, and a loss, with three of the four teams all level on points.
Outside of Europe, Ederson and Savinho competed with Brazil during 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with both Manchester City players participating and starting in both matches. Facing Chile and Peru, and winning both contests, Brazil sit fourth place in the qualification table with eight matches to go.
James McAtee would put together a stellar pair of matches for England Under-21s side, scoring three goals in two games in a 2-1 win over Ukraine in which the Manchester City playmaker scored two late goals to come from behind, before playing a role in a 7-0 win over Azerbaijan.
As for the rest of the Manchester City squad, Stefan Ortega, and Matheus Nunes were not selected by their national teams, whilst Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Nathan Aké, and Oscar Bobb did not travel due to injury.
Scott Carson and İlkay Gündoğan have both retired from international football and as such did not participate, despite the latter being recognised during the international break by the German football federation for his outstanding contributions to his country.